California to Texas!

12/12/2017

Historic Santa Fe Locomotives Arrive in Frisco

It’s been nearly three decades in the making! Four historically significant diesel locomotives have finally arrived at their permanent home at the Museum of the American Railroad, three of which came from the Santa Fe Railway’s historic collection. Their arrival is the culmination of a successful partnership between two railroad museums 2,000 miles apart – a project that began before our historic move to Frisco.

In the 1970s, the Santa Fe Railway began searching the system for the last survivors of its earliest examples of diesel locomotives. Management deemed them worthy of preservation and an important link to the railroad’s iconic heritage. Included were three locomotives built by different companies during the fledgling years of diesel production which ultimately led to the demise of steam. They were stored at the railroad’s massive Albuquerque shop complex and eventually donated to the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) in Sacramento in 1986.

In 2009, as part of a restructuring of its collection, CSRM began to look for new homes for select locomotives in the Santa Fe Collection. The Museum of the American Railroad (MAR) was thought to be a perfect fit for preserving and presenting the units because of Santa Fe’s heritage in Texas and MAR’s move to a larger more prominent facility in Frisco. However, MAR needed to make significant progress on construction of its planned facilities before acquiring the locomotives.

With additional exhibit track completed late last year, the CSRM locomotives were officially gifted to MAR and readied for transportation to Texas. They embarked on a month-long 2,000 mile journey through the American Southwest. Arriving earlier today, they join the Museum of the American Railroad’s priceless collection of first–generation diesel locomotives, and now make up the largest gathering of preserved Santa Fe motive power in the nation. Ranging in age from 66 to 78 years old, the new acquisitions represent a huge leap in technology from steam to internal combustion.

On October 6, the locomotives were carefully loaded onto heavy duty flat cars because of their age and condition. They were then tied down by CSRM mechanical forces and inspected by the railroads. The process required two weeks of work. The loaded cars began their trek to Texas on November 13, departing Sacramento on Union Pacific Railroad’s line to Stockton. There, they were transferred to BNSF Railway, over which they would travel the rest of the way to Frisco, with layovers in Barstow, Clovis, Amarillo, Tulsa, Madill, and Sherman.

Funding for the project was provided by the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust. The railroads graciously provided transportation and TTX made four flatcars available at reduced rates. Our thanks for their generosity and to the many employees that insured the success and safety of the move. We are indebted to these organizations, without whom this project would not have been possible. Additional funding is being provided by the Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society.

Special thanks to the California State Railroad Museum for their gift of the locomotives and support of our efforts in North Texas – a partnership that benefits historic railway preservation on a national level. The new acquisitions add value to the visitor experience and enhance the Museum’s offerings as an educational resource and cultural tourism destination.

We are proud to preserve part of BNSF’s legacy and rich history of the Santa Fe Railway. A fourth locomotive was also gifted by the California State Railroad Museum, a 1949 General Motors model F-7B that will be cosmetically restored as a booster unit to the museum’s existing Santa Fe F-7A. The pair will be aesthetically matched to represent motive power during Santa Fe’s legendary Streamliner era in the 1950s. Such locomotives could be found pulling the Texas Chief between Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Chicago.

Further information about the four locomotives can be found here. Details of their restoration will be announced in the near future.

The Museum of the American Railroad is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable corporation chartered in the state of Texas in 1962. The mission of the Museum is to enrich the lives of others through meaningful, relevant programs and exhibits that relate the history & technology of the Railroad and its profound impact on American life and culture.

The Museum is a year-round cultural tourism destination located in Frisco, Texas, providing general exhibits and educational programming for North Texas schools. For more information and opportunities to provide support, contact the Museum at 214-428-010.

(Above) near Kingman on the Barstow, CA to Clovis, NM leg of their journey over BNSF, November 24, 2017. Photos courtesy of Kenneth Gengler.

The four historic diesel-electric locomotives are shown passing through the Arizona desert near Kingman on the Barstow, CA to Clovis, NM leg of their journey over BNSF, November 24, 2017. Photos courtesy of Kenneth Gengler.